There’s a New Surge Coming - What’s Biden’s Plan?

In the midst of the crisis at the border, the Foreign Minister of Panama expressed confusion over the fact that the Biden Administration is acting surprised after countries explicitly warned the U.S. about a 19,000 plus person migrant caravan that is currently making the trek to the southern border. It is a very big deal that countries that are very reliant on the U.S. – like Panama – are speaking out to the United States over the border crisis.

The Biden Administration continues to live in denial that their own policies created the open border message to migrants all around the world. It is not only President Biden and Vice President Harris, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has followed their cue:

"We have not seen before such a rapid migration – irregular migration – of individuals as we have observed and experienced with respect to the Haitians who have crossed the border in Del Rio, Texas. That has been an unprecedented speed."

Why are they so surprised? Various countries have warned them of this exact scenario. ACLJ Chief Counsel and my dad Jay Sekulow explained the problem behind this denial:

"The problem here is called lack of preparation, lack of understanding, lack of ability to get your hand around this situation, and a failure of diplomacy. . . .The problem here is you already have the crisis at Del Rio, and you’re going to add to that crisis 16,000 to 18,000 people. These caravans are coming because they think they can come in."

We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get to the bottom of this. The Biden Administration ignored our request, like we expected, so we filed a lawsuit.

In our scope of work at the ACLJ, we’re not just focused on the big headline grabbing issues like the border crisis, we are also demanding answers from a department store in regards to an employee’s religious liberty. There is no battle that is too big or too small for us.

In a classic case for the ACLJ defending religious liberty, one of our clients who previously worked for Belk was wrongfully terminated and retaliated against based on her request for a religious exemption. ACLJ Senior Litigation Counsel Abby Southerland joined Sekulow to discuss this case:

"She’s worked there for over a decade and she has always received the Sabbath off. So, this summer in July, her manager came to her and said, you’re going to need to resubmit a request for religious exemption . . . . She wasn’t giving us an answer why. She was almost a full-time employee, so she was working many hours per week. So, when she inquired about the reason, they didn’t provide her a reason; they actually threatened to reduce her hours if she didn’t agree to work on the Sabbath. I don’t think this was a case where they were needing her because of their reduced number of employees at the department store."

When she provided the information, the situation got worse. The employer accused her of lying to them because they couldn’t find her church on Google. It was a home church, and she offered to put them in contact with her pastor. Belk refused and instead fired her. We issued a demand letter and are awaiting a full response from Belk in the meantime.

One of the other issues that is central to the ACLJ’s mission is protecting the unborn. In another case, Tennessee passed a heartbeat law that prohibits abortion after a heartbeat has been detected and also prohibits doctors to knowingly performing an abortion based on discriminatory reasons such as race, sex, or Down syndrome diagnosis. ACLJ Senior Counsel Ed White joined Sekulow to explain the update on this case in the courts (you can also read more about it in in his new article here):

"The Court of Appeals . . . upheld the injunction and said that the statute in particular with regard to Down syndrome, race, and gender abortions was vague. The state of Tennessee last week filed a petition for rehearing en banc which is asking the full Court of Appeals . . . all of the active judges to consider the case. Today, we filed an amicus brief in support of the state of Tennessee asking the full Sixth Circuit to review this case and to allow the Tennessee law to go into effect."

This is a unique time when states are getting creative with legislation and gaining momentum in the pro-life movement. The abortion industry is starting to feel the pressure and realize how this affects their profits. At the ACLJ, we are fighting in Tennessee and representing South Dakota and Governor Kristi Noem simultaneously to protect the unborn. We are front and center to defend these states and stand up for life.

Today’s full Sekulow broadcast is complete with even more analysis of the crisis at the southern border and ACLJ’s two cases regarding religious liberty and pro-life issues.